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Overview

Once a year, Wren is chased through the woods near her rural Ireland hometown in a warped version of a childhood game. Her pursuers belong to the judges, a group in control of an ancient, powerful magic they stole from her own people, the augurs . . . but they know nothing of her real identity. If they learned the truth, the game would surely turn deadly.

Though she knows the risks, Wren also goes on the hunt, taking a dangerous undercover assignment as an intern at enemy headquarters, the Harkness Foundation. If she can uncover a long-buried secret, she can save her family and end the judges' reign once and for all.

But as the web of lies, deceit, and betrayal thickens around Wren, she hurtles toward a truth that threatens to consume her and reveal who she really is. Not only has she come to the attention of powerful judge Cassa Harkness, but she is also falling dangerously in love with the one person she shouldn't. And she may need to decide which she'd rather lose, her heart or her life.

This spellbinding YA debut from Mary Watson is part thriller, part love story and entirely captivating.

Product Details

About the Author

Mary Watson is from Cape Town and now lives on the West Coast of Ireland with her husband and three young children. Highlights of her adult writing career include being awarded the Caine Prize for African Writing in Oxford in 2006, and being included on the Hay Festival's 2014 Africa39 list of influential writers from sub-Saharan Africa.

marywatsonbooks.com

Editorial Reviews

11/26/2018Set in present-day Ireland, this YA debut from South African thriller writer Watson (The Cutting Room) tells the tale of two warring clans of druidic descendants: the augurs, who have a preternatural affinity for patterns, and the judges, who have a magical connection to nature. Both groups draw their power from sacred objects, called nemeta, most of which are now controlled by judges. Without access to nemeta, the augurs will become extinct, so 17-year-old Wren Silke goes undercover as an intern at Harkness House, the charity run by chief judge Calista Harkness, hoping to glean tactical information. Although Wren’s augur abilities allow her to see the future, she fails to predict Calista’s intense scrutiny—or the attraction she feels for Calista’s bodyguard, Tarquin Gallagher. Despite a contrived setup and an overly complex mythology, Watson’s core characters still enchant. Calista is a nuanced, sympathetic antagonist; Wren’s struggles between love and duty, fate and free will are transfixing; and Wren and Tarquin’s forbidden romance feels at once modern and folkloric. Ages 14–up. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

[R]eminiscent of Maggie Stiefvater's Raven Cycle . . . Watson brings a deep and visceral voice to old stories as well as an authentic and modern urban sensibility, making this a highly stylized read.” School Library Journal, starred review

“Watson's core characters . . . enchant. Calista is a nuanced, sympathetic antagonist; Wren's struggles between love and duty, fate and free will are transfixing; and Wren and Tarquin's forbidden romance feels at once modern and folkloric.” Publishers Weekly

“The mythology introduced in this debut is lovely and haunting . . . [For] readers who loved the dark lore and lyrical language of Melissa Albert's The Hazel Wood.” Booklist

“In this moody magical thriller, a girl with a secret identity and a talent that doubles as a curse has to outwit her enemies, survive her own damaging power, and follow her heart. For fans of . . . [t]he Shannara Chronicles.” Buzzfeed

“Wren's a feisty but vulnerable hero . . . Readers who enjoy the mix of modernity and mythology of Stiefvater's The Raven Cycle will find that same blend here.” BCCB

“[A] compelling take on druid mythology combined with a dash of family mystery. . . . The novel asks how knowledge not only defines but also changes someone, engendering interesting surprises.” Foreword Reviews

“This book will be a great read for those who enjoy fantasy, romance, and a little bit of mystery.” School Library Connection

“The Wren Hunt rings with ancient, subtle magic, masterfully transmuted into words. A tale that gets into your bones.” Samantha Shannon, New York Times bestselling author of THE BONE SEASON

From the Publisher

★ 10/01/2018Gr 7 Up—Wren, an orphan raised in a community of augurs by her grandfather, is encouraged to stop the yearly wren hunt. But she doesn't. Readers live through the excruciating hunt with Wren as she hides in the ruin of a cottage once inhabited by Arabella de Courcy, an artist who had fallen in love with a tree man and is eventually killed by him. Epigraphs, perhaps from de Courcy's diary, are interwoven into Wren's story in such a subtle way that one doesn't immediately realize their significance. After the bloodshed of the hunt, Wren goes home in time to be chosen to spy on the Harkness Foundation, the epicenter of the judges, who are apparently bent on destroying the augurs. A slow-moving story at first, the novel picks up the pace with the introduction of Tarc, the head of security for the judges, and his forbidden and mutual attraction to Wren. What will happen when he discovers Wren's true mission and identity? Among increasingly blurry allegiances, the ending is a shocker and entirely satisfying. The fantastical work is reminiscent of Maggie Stiefvater's "Raven Cycle," with its search for a Welsh king in a Latin-speaking forest, and Susan Cooper's "The Dark Is Rising" series. Watson brings a deep and visceral voice to old stories as well as an authentic and modern urban sensibility, making this a highly stylized read. VERDICT Give this title a prominent place in YA collections. Highly recommend.—Janet Gross, Cushing Academy, Ashburnham, MAHigh School

School Library Journal

2018-08-20

Augurs scry prophecies from patterns, but 17-year-old Wren Silke is uncertain about her own future.

Raised by her gruff grandfather Smith, Wren distrusts her own dark powers of apophenia but yearns to protect her "grove" of fellow augurs in Kilshamble, Ireland. To help the augurs in their secret war against the fearsome, violent judges, Wren reluctantly goes undercover, intending to find the Daragishka Knot and restore the augurs' power sources. Interning at the judge stronghold of Harkness House, Wren must deflect the avid attention of Calista Harkness; avoid Calista's nephew, predatory bully David; and struggle with her crush on brooding bruiser Tarc. Wren's visible differences—she is half-white, half-other, dark-haired and brown-skinned, courtesy of an absent, perhaps Indian father—are less about ethnic identity and more symbolic. Wren suffers from "Chosen One" syndrome—i.e., inexplicable allure, checklistlike prophecy, pivotal role in mythic battle—but is oddly passive; after Wren experiences Betrayal and Sacrifice, Surrender (the third element of the story surrounding the Knot) seems like an inevitability rather than a choice. Watson (The Cutting Room, 2013, etc.) excels at the quotidian details, but the fantastic elements are ill-explained and impressionistic: The Knot is a confusing MacGuffin, the magical terminology clunky, and the mythology contradictory.

Lush, if meandering and muddled; good for fans of Maggie Stiefvater and Holly Black. (Fantasy. 14-18)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

The Wren Hunt was such a unique book. I loved the mythology, the long-standing feud between the two magical factions, and the juxtaposition of magic and the modern world. The Augurs and the Judges were both intriguing, I liked that the author delved a bit into the history of the conflict and explained more about each side. There were also some great family dynamics. I enjoyed seeing how the relationships between characters developed and changed over the course of the book. However, the ending felt a little rushed and incomplete to me. I was left with a lot of unanswered questions about the world and how certain aspects of the book tied in. Although this is a standalone, the ending really felt more like a setup for a sequel. That being said, The Wren Hunt was still an overall enjoyable read.
Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

bookchelle

More than 1 year ago

The Wren Hunt is such an interesting and captivating read!
Told through the eyes of Wren, a 17 year Augur old living in a small town, we begin the story at the time of the annual hunt. While it may be a fun hunt for other neighborhoods, Wren's small town is bloody and causes her pain.
There are the Judges, the Augurs, and Bards that categorize the people in this world. The Bards are extinct, leaving the Judges and Augurs to have tension throughout the years. The Judges are ruthless and monopolize lives around town, while the Augurs lay low.
I enjoyed Wren and who she is as a main character. She's a great heroine to look up to, and I really loved getting to know her. She's witty, and smart, and quick.
This world is so intricate and enigmatic that I can't fully express how much I enjoyed the magic system, the detailed world, or these wonderful characters. It feels like magical realism, but the soul of this story feels historical and established. I specifically enjoyed the details surrounding the Daragishka Knot, a magic to help Augur's causes.
I enjoyed every moment of it, and I think you will also.
*Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.*

bayy245

More than 1 year ago

The Wren Hunt is a book about magical beings in our world, but I was totally unconvinced. It took me a long time to figure out where the setting was and even then I wasn't completely sure. I had a hard time juxtaposing T.V's and cans of Coke with the magical characters. They just didn't seem to mesh well together, despite the authors best efforts. I'm not expecting to everything about the magical world or how it operates but we weren't given enough throughout the beginning for me to really understand what was going on or how their world operated.
We open to a scene where Wren is chased through the woods by boys from the rival magic gang(family?). Apparently this happens every year and a trophy is taken. It's unclear as to why they chase her and don't celebrate the Wren Hunt like the rest of the world. It's never mentioned why they don't go to the police about the chase or why it even happens at all. I'm not sure what the Wren Hunt is even about.
I don't sympathize with Wren nor connect with her. I don't with any of the characters for that matter.
I'm not sure what I was hoping to get from this book, but I certainly didn't get it. There was nothing that really stood out for me about this book and I spent most of the time confused and not really enjoying what I was reading.
*Thank you to Netgalley for this review copy*

pooled_ink

More than 1 year ago

pooled ink Reviews:
4.5 Stars
This is exactly the type of atmospheric novel that I love. Rich with Irish mythology but set in present day, THE WREN HUNT is written with a lovely lulling prose and a subtle uneasy air that will have you holding your breath as you turn the page. It was like nothing I expected but rather far more captivating than I could've hoped.
The characters are slow unwinding riddles, the plot is not as it seems, there is darkness and action as well as laughter and light, but overall the story is something told over a midnight fire, found in a long lost journal, or whispered in the forest while you walk alone. Such a unique read!

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